Mark of the Wolves
by L.Q. Brooks
Summary: Book 5 of 7. The trouble of the prophecy has leaped to Canada, and sent down three new questers. The only thing they don't know is that they brought down a thing that can kill them all. Rated T for brief language. LOOK OUT FOR "SERPENT'S FANG" TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
1. Mareth's Warning

1. Mareth's Warning

"You've been reckless this summer, Humphrey."

The grey wolf grumpily and looked up at a red haired wolf of the Alpha kind. Her name was Violet, and she was standing right beside Humphrey's bed, blocking his view of his wife, Kate. Since their adventure in Idaho he had never quite been himself. He rolled over and sat up. "What? Having to travel from one state to one in another country is bad enough and you know what happened to Winston." The wolf stared down at her paw for a moment, then looked back up at him. "I know better than anybody."

Humphrey winced as he thought about how Spencer, an evil wolf from his past, had killed off his father in law. He shook off the picture in his head of him being knocked backwards and landing on his back, his eyes staring at the sky without seeing, and Kate crying tears onto her father's body. He looked over at Kate with Violet having moved a little bit, tossing and turning like nobody's business. He couldn't bear to just sit there and watch her like that. He wanted to help, but he didn't know how. He swore his revenge on Spencer.

Violet broke the silence and said with a soothing voice, "Um, Humphrey, I have brought you a visitor. He has came to Canada all the way from New York City." Humphrey quickly and quietly walked out of bed, careful not to wake his mate. There was a man, possibly in his twenties or thirties, in the entrance to the cave. The wolf gave out his paw to the man and said, "Humphrey." The man grabbed it and shook it twice. "Mareth. Now, I understand you have lost family not too long ago."

Humphrey looked over at caramel brown Kate and then back at Mareth. "Certainly. How do you do, Mareth?" The man smiled for the first time and said, "I have good intentions, but I am handicapped." He then beckoned the wolf to his missing leg. "What happened to it?" "I crippled it after my world survived a deadly plague. I'm alright, though, it happened long ago." Humphrey looked around and questioned, "Terribly sorry, but would you like to come in?" Mareth stumbled in and sat down on the wolf's bed.

By this time Kate had awoken. "Hello, Humphrey. Hello, Violet. And, um, you are?" She asked, pointing towards Mareth. The handicapped man introduced himself once more. "Well then, pleased to meet your acquaintance. Are you settling in okay?" she asked politely, but she mouthed, "You won't be here long, will you?" Mareth chuckled. "Ah yes, alone time with your mate. I suppose I must cut to the chase. Yes, I am doing quite alright. Now, wolves, I suppose you have not seen this writing on your wall?" Mareth pointed to the right wall of the cave as both wolves got up, walking over to the wall. Kate began to read.

_Alpha and Omega  
I bid you farewell  
For you have been summoned  
To where many have fell_

_You must leave your world  
To save one another  
And your adviser  
Shall be a sister or brother_

Underneath the caramel brown wolf noticed something strange, even stranger than the prophecy. There were three large lines that looked like they had been carved out of lava rock. Nothing fancy, but just three dark marks. "Mareth, do you think they have left this for us?" Kate asked. The man shrugged and said, "Well, it _was _placed here, in your cave, but as myself, I wouldn't hope it is for you. If it is for you, which you better hope it's not, you will have to venture on a dangerous quest. Like I have before."

* * *

Scrat traveled around in the woods, every now and then looking down at the engraving in the new nut that he had cracked open not too long ago. In case you have forgotten, and I seriously hope you haven't, he was battling for his nut when he was sent on this quest to find a bunch of nuts, and bring Manny from dying. Scrat, of course, did not know so much of how great the final nut would be in the end, and he really didn't want to know. He didn't want anyone to get hurt. After all, he was a sensitive rodent.

YET ANOTHER GENIUS, SQUIRREL AND RAT  
THE LAST ONE IS UNDERNEATH THE BAT

Of course, this nut would not be the last one, but don't tell Scrat that. I'm just going to see how long it takes for him to figure that out. We must leave him for now, I just wanted to tell you how he is now.

* * *

Just then, three more wolves came in. Their names were Sweets, Candy, and Cocoa. They were are playful, not really more than a baby. But Humphrey and Kate liked them anyway. "Hi, Humphrey! Whass going on?" Candy squealed with glee. Cocoa looked at whatever the wolves were looking at, and then at the mark. "Cool!" She ran over, knocking over Humphrey and almost knocking over Kate. The little wolf studied the prophecy for a moment, reading it. Then she studied the mark. Cocoa, after becoming deep in thought, let out her paw to touch it. Mareth, Violet, and the two mates watched in horror as, when she touched it, she suddenly went cold and tumbled over to her side, curling up quickly. Just then something came from the mark. A green glow, it looked like. Mareth, Sweets, and Candy jumped out of the way just in time, but the three wolves each turned into wind, and in two seconds, were gone.

**AR: **I just love strange beginnings. What do you think of Violet? I created her and Cocoa out of the top of my head. Tell me if you start seeing a pattern in my stories, because I started one in Book 3. Hmm. A mystery.


	2. Where Am I?

2. Where Am I?

Humphrey, Kate, and Violet felt like they were flying for a moment while soaring to wherever they were headed. They seemed to be flying very slow, so they had a little time to talk. "What the hell? What's happening?" Kate yelled. Humphrey shrugged as the wind was brushing against his fur, making it feel very much like a massage. "I guess wherever we're going has to have something to do with the prophecy, and what Mareth said. Whatever is happening needs to stop quickly! I feel sick!" he continued.

Kate and Violet, luckily and smoothly, rushed out of the way so that they wouldn't get Humphrey's vomit on them. They did exclaim, "Ewwww!", though. They didn't know it, but they were actually heading back in time, and near South America. Kate began to twirl around when she caught on fire, plummeting towards Earth. Violet tried to swoop through the air and grab onto her paw, but the force was too quick. Immediately she was sucked into a small hole, the last word yelling, "Humphrey!"

* * *

It didn't take Scrat very long to figure out that it wouldn't be the last nut. Of course, he had to find the next nut to prove it. Under the bat-there was no bats that lived in the Ice Age. It didn't make sense. Wherever 'the bat' lied would be the next step to keeping Manny from dying. After what seemed like hours of searching, he finally came across Lake Baudelaire. He took a deep breath and looked down into the pool. Yep. Just as he had suspected, there was a bat. He took another deep breath and jumped in. This one wouldn't fall from a tree, so he had to think well. He had easily grabbed the nut from under her and swam back up to the surface. He looked around for a moment and found a small rock. He smiled and grabbed it, knocking on the acorn. After seven or eight tries it finally broke open. And here's what it said.

YOU ARE A FOOL, THIS IS NOT IT  
THE NEXT ACORN LIES IN A PIT

He screamed in frustration of being fooled.

* * *

"Kate!" Humphrey yelled. "Hold on!" He tried to swim through the air through the portal, with Violet holding onto his tail with a tight grip, not wanting him to go too. "Humphrey! Stop it!" she yelled, and yet it was no use. He had already been sucked through the portal, with Violet close behind. They seemed to be spat out of the portal, immediately thumping against the ground. Humphrey rubbed his head and looked around at the new surroundings, also cuddling up against Kate. "Where are we? Where am I?"

"I don't know. At least you're not alone," Violet whispered, which only made the grey wolf whimper. Violet sighed, secretly having a love for him. She felt his pain and always tried to make him feel better, but she was also a warrior, and she could not to both at the same time. She just thought that maybe when the wolf realized how cool she was he would separate from Kate. That seemed impossible, though. He would never leave. "Well, let's find some shelter. At least we'll have that." The red wolf snarled in disgust.

"Yeah, alright. Let's start looking." They all headed off looking for any possible sign of civilization. Along the way Violet tried to talk to Humphrey, but it helped none. The grey wolf was just trying to heal Kate's burns. They weren't too deep, just mild burns. Humphrey was able to fix them very quickly, luckily enough. Once they noticed Lake Baudelaire they wondered, "Hey, let's ask that little fella for directions," pointing to Scrat. They rushed over and frightened the little rat, but he didn't dare move.

"Do you know where we can find shelter?" Violet asked kindly. Scrat thought for a moment, then squealed, pointing over to a small igloo, slightly melting. "Hey, thanks!" Kate exclaimed, running towards the igloo. Humphrey fist bumped the squirrel, and Violet just nodded. Scrat, once they were all gone, stared at the three wolves in wonder, thinking if they could possibly be one of the reasons he is finding all these nuts, and whether or not he is saving his friends.

"Hello? Is anyone there? Hello?" Humphrey asked knocking on the door. Diego fluttered his eyes open slowly but surely, talking in his sleep, probably. "Whose there?" Humphrey and Violet walked in, with Kate following. Beetee, Wiress, and Zia woke up next and looked at their new visitors. "Hello, there. How are you?" Zia questioned, smiling. Violet shook her head, remembering the prophecy. "Not well. You see, I have photographic memory of a horrible prophecy and..." Diego yawned. "Oh great, another prophecy. Well, what did it say?" "It went a little something like this."

_Alpha and Omega  
I bid you farewell  
For you have been summoned  
To where many have fell_

_You must leave your world  
To save one another  
And your adviser  
Shall be a sister or brother_

__By that time everyone had woken up, and everyone had been introduced. Howard, who was the only one awake when the wolves appeared, continued cutting a rope he was currently working on, having nothing better to do. "It seems we have a pattern," he finally said. They all looked at him. "Think about it. We have like three prophecies now. What if they all go together somehow? Let's try to put them altogether. I think I can remember pretty well, as I had a lot of time to memorize it."

ONE SHALL BE TRAPPED IN A THING THAT NEVER WAS  
TWELVE SHALL APPEAR ALL WITH A STRANGE CAUSE  
TWO SHALL COME NEXT AND LEAVE A DEADLY MARK  
ONE SHALL PREPARE TO DESTROY THE ICE AGE CENTRAL PARK  
AND ALL OF THE QUESTERS WILL BE TAKEN TO THE RATS  
BUT ON A SIDE-QUEST, THERE IS AN EASY TASK  
FOR SCRAT-

_Gnawer, flier, human stand  
__The Ice Age's the new Underland  
__Joining the crushers, walkers, and clawers too  
__The world old becomes the war new_

_From the roarers a monster lives  
To be unharmed a life you shall give  
For this roarer only cares for one simple thing  
The bell of death is soon to ring  
_

_One quester must be sacrificed  
To a place worse than the place of ice  
The walls of safety soon to break  
One lightning will be gone to the lake_

_In the end, the bark will be worse than the bite  
Many will be visiting the light  
A light brighter than the Ice Age can hold  
The one who calls you friend will in the end turn cold_

_Alpha and Omega  
I bid you farewell  
For you have been summoned  
To where many have fell_

_You must leave your world  
To save one another  
And your adviser  
Shall be a sister or brother_

__All the questers became deep in thought with Howard, thinking about how it could go together. Suddenly Ripred's ears perked up. "Hey wait, Humphrey. You said that a wolf came, touched the mark, and died?" "Yes." "Well, I think I see a mark like you described right here in the snow. And three marks...yes! The prophecy makes sense! The world old becomes the war new." He then looked down at his three claws. "And a mark...I think I know what it means. There are three marks of wolf around the Ice Age, and they are all where I have been. Ripred's prophecy. I have created a deadly mark.

**AR: **Doesn't make sense, now does it? Don't worry, it will. A poll is now up on my page about the story. Hope you take it!


	3. The Troops

3. The Troops

"Ripred, don't talk like that. How could you have created Mark of the Wolves?" Nike squealed in confusion. "I don't know, why does grass grow? No one knows. Why is it green? I don't know that either. Just another factor of life. Not knowing things. I know that I created a mark, but I don't know how I did. It seems they have to be destroyed, if they're so deadly. What do you say, Manny?" The mammoth looked around at the wolves. "Um, yeah. I guess. We've been in worse circumstances."

The rat grinned, baring his teeth. "Excellent. But, um, if we want to find and destroy the marks as quickly as possible, we should split up into groups." Zia nodded. "Zia, do you have any special power?" Diego asked in delight. The girl nodded again and smiled. Then, she said, "I have the power to, if I touch a writing, I can automatically memorize it and post it somewhere else with another touch. It's pretty sweet." Diego smiled, but frowned when he heard a strange rumbling sound, like a roarer.

* * *

YOU ARE A FOOL, THIS IS NOT IT  
THE NEXT ACORN LIES IN A PIT

A pit? What did that even mean? And being called a fool didn't help. The scenario is bad enough having to find a bunch of nuts in order to keep his friends alive or, well, he didn't even know what he was doing it for! Unbelievable. The next acorn lies in a pit? And who were those strange wolves? They weren't part of Soto's pack, were they? He sure hoped not. And yet, maybe if they just killed the questers he would be able to at least take a tiny break, not that he wanted any of them to die, though. That would be dishonest. If only there was a way he could just escape the prophecy. It was just too much for our little Scrat. And who knew what Jesse was doing to Buck? No one in the Ice Age knew, even though they knew it was something horrendous. The next acorn lies in a pit...there were no pits in the Ice Age! Unless they meant...oh no, not there!

* * *

_Rumble, rumble  
__Rumble, rumble_

Michael Vey got his shocking powers ready, prepared for anyone, or anything that would think of getting inside. Diego sharpened his claws, and Howard stopped working with the rope he was cutting and held out his dagger. He moved it from side to side, not really knowing where the sound was coming from, as the igloo was very much hollow, and the sound echoed all around the room. Suddenly the rumbling sound stopped, and it was silent for a moment. Then came another sound.

_Rustle, rustle  
Rustle, rustle_

The noise kept getting louder until it became silent again. Someone from the outside poked a small hole in the wall, and in popped two possums. "Hey, ditcher sister! Where have you been?" Crash wondered. "Crash! Eddie! Why didn't you come to Fast Tony's meeting? Everyone was to be there!" Ellie shrieked. "Sorry! We were just hanging out with the armadillo kids! Where have you been?" Eddie replied. "It's a long story, I'll tell you later." Crash and Eddie nodded and said, "Noted." Then they began making the teams that Manny chose.

"Okay, now we have a bunch of people. We have, Manny, Sid, Diego, Ellie, Peaches, Crash, Eddie, Humphrey, Kate, Violet, Beetee, Wiress, Ripred, Lapblood, Nike, Aurora, Luxa, Howard, Michael, Taylor, Ostin, Ian, Grace, Abigail, McKenna, Gandalf, Bilbo, Zia, Jack, Wade, Mitchell, Percy, and Annabeth. Group One will be..." he said, looking around. "Diego, Sid, Peaches, Grace, Abigail, and McKenna. So get together." They did so, and stood off a little to the left.

"Group Two will be Percy, Annabeth, Crash, Eddie, Zia, and Ian." They huddled up and moved farther off as well. "Group Three will be Ripred, Nike, Howard, Michael, Taylor, and Ostin." They continued what the others were doing. "Group Four will be Beetee, Wiress, Bilbo, Jack, Wade, and Mitchell." They huddled. "Group Five will be Lapblood, Aurora, Luxa, Gandalf, Ellie, and I." They huddled together, each in a different spot. "All right, if anyone is to leave from their troop, fair warning: he will face death more dreadful than Swordneck's."

**AR: **It was hard deciding who goes with who. Six people each group, that worked out just dandy. Who will survive? Who will come back with victory of destroying the mark? Find out in the next two chapters.


	4. Destroying the Claw

4. Destroying the Claw

"Wait, what about me?" Sarah demanded. Manny was prepared, though, for this question. "You, Sarah, will need to watch over the igloo, so that nothing happens to it as it did to the walls. Okay?" The vampire seemed happy with her mission as she nodded. "Excellent. Now, everyone, I want to see you back here in half an hour. Have a safe trip and, uh, try not to get killed. Good plan? Okay, that's good. You may leave when ready. My group, follow me, and everyone else split up. See you all soon."

Soon they were all off, with Lapblood, Aurora, Luxa, Gandalf, and Ellie following Manny. The rat soon caught up to Manny, and Aurora and Luxa, also carrying Gandalf, flew up into the sky. Ellie walked on Manny's other side and said, "How could you leave Peaches with Sid? Seriously?" Manny had a quick answer. "Because, she's with the girls, and you know their powers. If she feels sad, they can make her feel better." The mammoth looked worried, but agreed with his words.

There were three marks and five groups. Who would destroy one? Possibly their group. It would be a dangerous job. How would they even destroy it? That made no sense at all. And worst of all, where would they be hidden?

* * *

Lava pit? Tar pit? What pit? This prophecy made no sense at all. Scrat was completely flabbergasted (one of his favorite words). He had checked every pit he knew, in that short a time. He decided to try to keep himself jolly, so he told himself a poem. It would pass the time, even if he didn't have time.

Five little girls, of Five, Four, Three, Two, One:  
Rolling on the hearthrug, full of tricks and fun.

Five rosy girls, in years from Ten to Six:  
Sitting down to lessons - no more time for tricks.

Five growing girls, from Fifteen to Eleven:  
Music, Drawing, Languages, and food enough for seven!

Five winsome girls, from Twenty to Sixteen:  
Each young man that calls, I say "Now tell me which you MEAN!"

Five dashing girls, the youngest Twenty-one:  
But, if nobody proposes, what is there to be done?

Five showy girls - but Thirty is an age  
When girls may be ENGAGING, but they somehow don't ENGAGE.

Five dressy girls, of Thirty-one or more:  
So gracious to the shy young men they snubbed so much before!

Five PASSE girls - Their age? Well, never mind!  
We jog along together, like the rest of human kind:  
But the quondam "careless bachelor" begins to think he knows  
The answer to that ancient problem "how the money goes"!

5,4,3,2,1,10,6,15,11,20,16,21,30,31. Hmm. If that was the first poem that had popped into his head, it had to mean something. Maybe 31 is how many steps he had to take. He had to try. Thirty-one steps he took, and he ran into a tar pit. Yes! But...if he were to jump in, it would suck. Then he reminded himself, for Manny. He took a deep breath and jumped in. He couldn't see very well, not that there was anything to see. Correct, the tar pit didn't have a nut. So, he did it with the other numbers.

30: Nothing  
21: Nothing  
16: Too horrid a story.  
20: This is getting boring.  
11, 15, 6, 10, 1, 2: All part of the same tar pit. Nothing.  
3: Nope  
4: Nada  
5: Haha!

GOOD NEWS: He had found the pit with the nut.  
BAD NEWS: It was a lava pit.

* * *

"Guys, look! Great Gandalf, there it is!" Aurora said, thinking she was so funny. But she was serious, as in front of her, the first mark lied. "Well, how are we going to destroy it?" Lapblood asked, leaning in. "Be careful, Lapblood. You know what happens when you touch it," Ellie scolded her. The rat got back up. Manny looked around for anything that could work. Suddenly he saw a big tree with a fat trunk. "Sweet!" he said, easily grabbing the tree out. He then rammed it into the wall, but the tree started glowing, and immediately disintegrated.

"Whoa!" he said, stumbling backwards. "Let me try," Gandalf said. Everyone stood back as he put out his staff. He screamed a battle cry in Egyptian and knocked his staff onto the ground. It made a line in the ground as it went up the wall, and it split right through the mark. The rock started to rumble, and there was a huge explosion, like dynamite had been set. Gandalf, Lapblood, Aurora, and Luxa were blown backwards, but they got up quickly. "Well, one down, two to go."

* * *

When they got back to the igloo, Sarah was exactly how they left her, so no one attacked her. Groups 1, 2, and 3 had returned, but not Group 4. "Where's Beetee and Wiress?" Manny asked in wonder to anyone who was to answer. Everyone was silent, for they did not know themselves. By the mention of Wiress' name, Group 4 immediately walked in, heads hanging. Something was wrong, though. Only five people were huddled as they sat down. Eyes closed, head almost frozen by the ice, neck lying on Bilbo's lap, was Mitchell.

**AR: **No, actually flabbergasted is _my _favorite word. Haha. Did you like that poem? I actually took it from Lewis Caroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland. Read the book, it's wonderful!


	5. Red, White, and Blue

5. Red, White, and Blue

"What happened? Mitchell? Mitchell, wake up!" Manny shrieked, but it was no use. He had seen death before. Looking down at the boy, who couldn't have been more than sixteen, he thought about all the different possibilities. When he looked back up, he saw that Wiress had hung her head and that Beetee was glaring at Jack and Wade. Jack sighed and said, "When we were on the mission, Mitchell wanted to go look for the mark, so we let him, but Wade and I went with him, just so he wouldn't get into trouble."

Manny looked at him expectantly, so he continued. "We went over there while Mitchell was flexing his muscles. We found one of the marks, so he pulled his fist back and hit it. We destroyed it, but...when he punched it he just fell over. It was an honest mistake. I swear!" Manny glared at him as Beetee did. "So you mean to say you let him die? You knew that touching it would kill you!" "I know, but Mitchell was asleep when Humphrey, Kate, and Violet arrived! How was he supposed to know?" Wade demanded.

"You could have told him!" Bilbo yelled. "Hey, don't turn this around on only me, you decided it was okay for him to go too!" Jack returned. Bilbo looked down at the person on his lap and fell silent. Gandalf walked up from the crowd. "Is this true, Bilbo? Did you decide it was okay for him to go?" The tiny hobbit looked grim, but he closed his eyes and decided to tell the truth. "Yes, sir." Manny was more enraged than ever. He took a gander over by Wiress and said, "What about you?"

Wiress looked up with tears in her eyes; she tried to speak, but all she could say was, "Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock." Sid looked over at her. "Like a clock?" Wiress shook her head and smiled. "No, it's that annoying Ke$ha song. It's stuck in my head." Everyone laughed, even Manny, though he merely chuckled. Bilbo got up and laid Mitchell's frozen ice block head onto the snow, very softly, so he would rest in peace. All the animals took a moment of silence, to remember their friend, who was now in the white.

* * *

Scrat, meanwhile, wasn't having the best time either. He took the biggest breath possible and, bravely, jumped into the lava pit. He screamed, which made him inhale some lava. Oh, why, oh why did it have to be him? For Manny, for Manny, for Manny. He had to keep repeating his mantra so he wouldn't give up. He looked around through his burning eyes, and finally saw a black spot in the lava, shaped like a nut. He swam through the pit and grabbed it before he felt faint. Staring at the red scenery was the last thing he saw before everything went black.

* * *

Out of the night that covers me,  
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,  
I thank whatever gods may be  
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance  
I have not winced nor cried aloud.  
Under the bludgeonings of chance  
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears  
Looms but the Horror of the shade,  
And yet the menace of the years  
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,  
How charged with punishments the scroll.  
I am the master of my fate:  
I am the captain of my soul.

Buck repeated this to himself, although he knew it was not true. Hatch was the master of his fate, and the captain of his soul. He stared down at the mark Torstyn had given him, and he thought if his friends would save him from this cell Hatch called a "locket". The blue was the only thing to keep him company.

**AR: **Red, white, and blue. Get it, United State-ers? Haha, I crack myself up.


End file.
